2022 Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 151-162
Objectives: Although the incidence of dementia is increasing worldwide, evidence-based non-pharmacological treatments for patients with severe dementia are scarce. This interventional study aimed to determine the effects of doll therapy(DT)in patients with severe Alzheimer's disease(AD)from multiple perspectives: facial expression, stress response, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD). Methods: The participants were diagnosed with severe AD, admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The control group underwent dementia rehabilitation, while the intervention group underwent dementia rehabilitation and DT. The duration of the study was 8 weeks in both groups. Results: The intervention group showed significantly improved facial expressions and stress responses during the DT implementation. BPSD improved significantly in the intervention group but not in the control group. Conclusions: DT was an acceptable activity for people with severe Alzheimer's disease and resulted in improvements in stress and BPSD. These results may be beneficial in terms of providing an effective non-pharmacological treatment option for patients with severe dementia.
